Photographer's Note

Two girls before the troglodyte village of Matmata in southern Tunisia. Scan from a slide taken in 1972.
Located southeast of Chott el Jerid, in the foothills of Jebel Dahar mountains of Matmata dominate the vast plain of Djeffara and constitute a cuesta (515 meters) in open limestone and marl of the Upper Cretaceous and middle by various wadis.
The village is located forty kilometers southwest of Gabes. Clinging to the mountain, 600 meters above sea level, this village has about 1800 inhabitants. It is renowned for its remarkable cave dwellings that make it a Mecca of tourism in Tunisia.

Hello Jean Jacques,
I remember this village while visiting Tunisia few years ago and indeed it was very big touristic attraction.
The girls posing for photo are very cute with their suspicious glances. The village in the background gives very interesting settings.
Well composed and with pretty natural colors.
Thanks for sharing and enjoy your evening!
Kamila

A lovely "oldie" from over 40 years ago, very well presented indeed! You have clearly preserved this colour slide very well and also perfectly scanned and edited it - the colours are exceptionally good and true to life.

A very nice "reportage" type of photograph, very well taken and with a very interesting note too.

I wonder how are the girls now, after forty years they can even have a grandchildren like this, specially that they look rather like Gypsies. They look with an interest at the photographer. Probably there were less tourists than now. I was in this village too, a few years ago. Not much changed around. Nice view of the desert.
Warm regrads MAlgo

Hello Jean Jacques - I wonder how things have fared for the two girls pictured here? 42 years will have seen may changes in this location and the girls will be grown up and most likely will have children of their own. I think the scanning process has retained the details and vintage look very well. A fascinating post. Warm regards Rosemary

Hi JJ
hard to believe this shot is 42 years old, these two girls are middle aged ladies now! Now that is a thought! Nevertheless it is a beautiful study and has transferred into digital so exquisitely. Well done, really love this glimpse back in time, it is priceless.

wow, today something different from your style and indeed an admirable one. A very well captured shot, well scanned too. I love the expressions of their eyes. A little tight at bottom, though it didn't hamper your composition a lot. Excellent one JJ. Tfs and Namaste.
S

Hello Jean Jacques,
These girls have the same face - just in different sizes. :-) Their expressions are so similar, and a bit suspicious of you! I like the wild hair on the littler girl. The photo and scan quality are very good, and these faces just pulled me in.

A good downward pov in this superb dual portrait presumably of mother and child. Good sharpness and nice repetition of the bg date palms. Effective tight framing and realistic colors with good saturation. Bon Dimanche!